


Daddy, Papa, and Santa

by through_shadows_falling



Series: Supernatural Ficlets [65]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Fluff, Destiel Advent Calendar, Domestic Fluff, Fatherhood, Husbands, Kid Fic, M/M, Schmoop, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 14:00:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8803585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/through_shadows_falling/pseuds/through_shadows_falling
Summary: “Daddy, look! It’s SANTA CLAUS!” Emma shrieked in a high-pitched voice that had Dean cringing. He followed her gaze toward the stage in the front of the room.“Ho, ho, ho! Look at all these wonderful children here today!” Santa said. His booming voice sounded awfully familiar...“Oh my god,” Dean said under his breath as a smile tugged at his lips. No way.





	

Dean leaned back in the plastic chair, amused.

He sat in the high school auditorium at a holiday craft fair, co-manning his husband’s apiary booth. Said husband Castiel had departed for somewhere, which left Dean with the apiary’s co-founder Cain, a bristly man with a full head of steel-gray hair and a wild, bushy beard to match. The thing was, Dean had known Cain for a long time - ever since meeting Castiel - and though he appeared intimidating, he was a big softie at heart. That much was evidenced by his current engagement in a staring contest with Dean’s three year old daughter.

Emma was perched on the opposite side of the table, her chin resting near their arrangement of handmade beeswax candles and jars of honey butter. Her brown eyes were wide, and her face was sticky with the remnants of a lollipop she’d grabbed from another vendor’s stash of free candy.

Dean’s gaze darted from her to a few aisles over, where he could just make out his older daughter Claire still engaged in crafts at Donna’s booth. Claire was seven years old, so he felt a little better about leaving her to her own devices even in such a crowded room. Plus, Donna was a sweetheart. They’d met a few times at various holiday fairs, and she was great with kids. 

Idly, Dean wondered what Claire was going to make. Part of the deal was that the parents would pay for the craft, the kids would make it, and then Donna would help them wrap it so they could give their creations to their parents as secret gifts. He’d have to wait until Christmas to see. 

Dean startled out of his daze at Emma’s giggle. Cain was making faces at her, which had caused her to lose concentration. A pair of women walked by and cooed down at her, pretending interest in the apiary’s goods. 

“Are your products local?” one of them asked.

Cain’s face settled back to its resting position, which made him look only somewhat menacing. “We’re located just outside of town, so yes, it’s local.”

The other woman reached around Emma to grab one of the candles.

“Em,” Dean said quickly, “why don’t you move so these nice ladies can see what we’re selling?”

Emma obeyed, and at Dean’s side, she fisted some of his t-shirt in her small hands. “Where’s Papa?”

“Don’t know.” He glanced at Cain, who kept sight of the women viewing his products. “You know where Cas went?” Dean continued.

Cain shrugged, though his eyes glinted. 

“You know, don’t you,” Dean said flatly, faking annoyance.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

“Hear that?” Dean squeezed Emma’s shoulders. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

The old women moved on without buying anything, and then a young man approached the table and wanted to discuss the current bee crisis. Cain engaged him well enough, though Dean knew his husband was really the man to talk to about that. Just where had Castiel disappeared to?

Claire returned with a small Snowman gift bag. A large tag dangled off the side that read ‘TO DADDY AND PAPA’ in Claire’s messy scrawl.  

Dean grinned. “Look at you, all ready with your Christmas shopping. Now you just need to get something for your sister.”

Claire glared at Emma, who stuck out her tongue, which was dyed blue. Claire gasped. “Did you have a lollipop?”

“That lady has lots of candy,” Emma said with a nod as she pointed to a booth toward the end of their aisle. 

“Can I go get some?” Claire asked Dean.

“What’s the magic word?”

Claire pouted, but added, “Please, Daddy?”

“Okay. But you can only take _one_  thing. You need to save some for everyone else.” Claire nodded and then darted through the crowd toward her coveted prize.

“Can I go too?” Emma piped up.

“You already got a lollipop.”

“But there’s _chocolate_.”

“Yes, but you chose a lollipop and that’s it for today.”

Emma’s face crumpled, and Dean braced himself for whining when Emma suddenly sucked in a huge breath.

“It’s _SANTA CLAUS_!” she shrieked in a high-pitched voice that had Dean cringing. He followed her gaze toward the stage in the front of the room, where a man dressed as Santa Claus had appeared before his majestic throne, waving to the crowd. The children in the auditorium pressed toward him, their parents in tow.

“Ho, ho, ho! Look at all these wonderful children here today!” Santa said. His booming voice sounded awfully familiar, and Dean squinted.

“Oh my god,” he said under his breath. A smile tugged at his lips as he caught Cain’s eyes. “Really?”

Cain just shrugged, though he looked close to laughter as well. Dean couldn’t contain his snort. ‘Santa’ was clearly wearing a wig, a fake beard, and an uneven layer of padding over his midsection to make him seem plumper. 

Emma yanked at his hand. “We have to go see Santa!”

“Yeah, let’s just wait for your sister to get back.” He let Emma swing his hand back and forth in her impatience. 

Claire reappeared, a lollipop in her mouth. She smiled and extended a smaller lollipop toward Emma, who snatched it up.

Dean opened his mouth, but let out a sigh instead of admonishment. At least the girls were acting like sisters. Sometimes he wasn’t sure if they’d ever truly get along like he did with his brother Sam.  

After checking that Cain would be fine manning the booth alone, Dean led his daughters toward the line of children waiting to sit on Santa Claus’s lap. A woman dressed as an elf accepted the parents’ money and ushered them along while a tall man in reindeer antlers took their official pictures, which they could pick up at the table on the other side of the heavily decorated stage.

Dean listened to his girls chatter excitedly over what they wanted to ask Santa to get them for Christmas. 

“Is Papa not going to see Santa?” Claire asked suddenly as the line inched forward. 

Dean couldn’t answer, as he was trying to refrain from laughing. A small boy with curly hair had been placed on Santa’s lap, and was now sobbing hysterically while Santa looked slightly panicked.  

“I think Papa will probably see Santa later,” he said at last, with the straightest face he could manage.

Finally, they were up. Santa faced them with a warm smile, and Dean’s heart fluttered when Santa pointedly winked at him. Emma and Claire each sat on one of Santa’s legs and posed for the picture before taking turns talking his ear off. 

Santa nodded along wisely. “Those are excellent ideas for toys for yourselves, but what about giving something to someone else? Maybe a child less fortunate than you?”

“I could give away one of my Grumpy cats,” Claire said, after considering his words for a moment.

“Me too!” Emma echoed, though Dean wasn’t sure she knew what they were talking about.

“Alright, time to let someone else talk to Santa now,” Dean said. Claire and Emma obediently hopped off his lap. 

“What about you, sir?” Santa asked Dean, just as they turned to leave. “What do you want for Christmas?”

Oh man, Dean was going to mock him later for this. He smirked. “I think I’ve got everything I need, Santa. But if you see my husband, could you let him know we’ve been looking for him?”

Santa smiled. “Why, of course. Have a good day, and Merry Christmas!” 

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sweetest, sappiest, most self-indulgent fic I've ever written! Enjoy your cavities, and happy holidays!


End file.
